“Pastor Kids, are the allegations accurate? ” Brown’s Pastor Lee-Curtis Childs is usually asked near the outset, while leaving the particular specifics of the scandal purposefully vague with regard to much of the movie.
The details are in fact relatively insignificant, because the relentlessly upbeat pastor and his wife Trinitie (Hall) work to rebuild their Lawrenceville megachurch, which once boasted thousands of parishioners, planning a triumphant reopening on Easter Sunday.
In what looks like an act of hubris, the Childs have also invited a documentary crew to label along, fly-on-the-wall style, as they go about the process, although there are enough uncomfortable moments that they frequently find themselves speaking directly to the hidden filmmakers, asking them to leave out certain material.
That device represents the type of thing that student filmmakers use, and writer-director Adamma Ebo — who produced the film along with her twin sister Adanne, the celebrities, Daniel Kaluuya, plus Jordan Peele — might have dispensed with it in this format, though it does serve the purpose of forcing Brown and Hall to maintain smiles plastered throughout their faces, while tension simmers just beneath the manicured surface as they see their disposition slipping away.
Ultimately, amid references in order to “the settlement” paid to those wrong, these people resort to roadside preaching, an indication showing how far the mighty have fallen. Additionally they watch their congregants flock to another church run by a more youthful couple (Nicole Beharie, Conphidance), which tend to be not particularly good at concealing their interest in capitalizing on their competitors’ misfortune — what the former calls a “landfill of a circumstance. inch
Having made its debut at the Sundance Movie Festival, “Honk pertaining to Jesus” obviously provides commentary about the transactional nature of specific religious outfits cooked into the concept, showing off Pastor Childs’ flashy outfits and costly shoes as evidence of those who profit away their flocks. But that broader aspect of the movie feels underdeveloped, focusing specifically for the central couple’s predicament, and particularly the level to which Trinitie should go, to quote the particular song, in standing by her man.
In that sense, the movie provides a strong showcase for Brownish and Hall while establishing Ebo as a talent to watch, otherwise, in this setting, person who completely delivers.
“I are not a perfect man, ” Pastor Childs concedes at one point.
While “Honk meant for Jesus” isn’t an ideal movie, give it praise for at least being an interesting one.
“Honk for Jesus. Save your valuable Soul” premieres September. 2 in ALL OF US theaters and on Peacock. It’s rated R.